Families
Food Deserts
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Share of Census Tracts with Food Deserts
2019
Arkansas County63%
Ashley County57%
Baxter County33%
Benton County47%
Boone County57%
Bradley County20%
Calhoun County100%
Carroll County40%
Chicot County50%
Clark County60%
Clay County17%
Cleburne County43%
Cleveland County50%
Columbia County80%
Conway County67%
Craighead County41%
Crawford County64%
Crittenden County45%
Cross County83%
Dallas County100%
Desha County60%
Drew County60%
Faulkner County44%
Franklin County33%
Fulton County50%
Garland County55%
Grant County100%
Greene County56%
Hempstead County100%
Hot Spring County71%
Howard County67%
Independence County38%
Izard County0%
Jackson County60%
Jefferson County42%
Johnson County83%
Lafayette County50%
Lawrence County67%
Lee County75%
Lincoln County25%
Little River County0%
Logan County50%
Lonoke County31%
Madison County75%
Marion County50%
Miller County50%
Mississippi County33%
Monroe County67%
Montgomery County100%
Nevada County100%
Newton County100%
Ouachita County100%
Perry County33%
Phillips County67%
Pike County67%
Poinsett County29%
Polk County67%
Pope County64%
Prairie County0%
Pulaski County61%
Randolph County25%
Saline County52%
Scott County100%
Searcy County67%
Sebastian County35%
Sevier County50%
Sharp County50%
St. Francis County67%
Stone County67%
Union County70%
Van Buren County40%
Washington County38%
White County46%
Woodruff County0%
Yell County67%

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Notes: 1 mile for urban areas and 10 miles for rural areas




Number of Low Food Access Census Tracts
2019
Arkansas County5
Ashley County4
Baxter County3
Benton County23
Boone County4
Bradley County1
Calhoun County2
Carroll County2
Chicot County2
Clark County3
Clay County1
Cleburne County3
Cleveland County1
Columbia County4
Conway County4
Craighead County7
Crawford County7
Crittenden County9
Cross County5
Dallas County3
Desha County3
Drew County3
Faulkner County11
Franklin County1
Fulton County1
Garland County11
Grant County4
Greene County5
Hempstead County5
Hot Spring County5
Howard County2
Independence County3
Izard County0
Jackson County3
Jefferson County10
Johnson County5
Lafayette County1
Lawrence County4
Lee County3
Lincoln County1
Little River County0
Logan County3
Lonoke County5
Madison County3
Marion County2
Miller County6
Mississippi County4
Monroe County2
Montgomery County3
Nevada County3
Newton County2
Ouachita County6
Perry County1
Phillips County4
Pike County2
Poinsett County2
Polk County4
Pope County7
Prairie County0
Pulaski County58
Randolph County1
Saline County11
Scott County3
Searcy County2
Sebastian County9
Sevier County2
Sharp County2
St. Francis County4
Stone County2
Union County7
Van Buren County2
Washington County12
White County6
Woodruff County0
Yell County4

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Notes: 1 mile for urban areas and 10 miles for rural areas



NATIONAL RANKING
46

OUT OF 51
2019

STATE TREND

Not Available


52%

2019

What does this measure?

The share of census tracts in an area that are food deserts.

Why is this important?

Food access is critical to health and well-being. Living in a food desert means getting food may require a personal vehicle or potentially lengthy and time-consuming travel on transit.

How is Arkansas doing?

In 2019, 52% of census tracts in Arkansas were food deserts.. This was 14 percentage points higher than the proportion for the nation of 38%. This makes Arkansas ranked 46th in the nation including all 50 states and Washington D.C. In Arkansas, 9 counties had 100% of census tracts considered food deserts. At the other extreme, 4 counties had no food deserts.

Notes about the data

In this dataset, a food desert is defined as a census tract where at least 500 people or 33 percent of the population live more than 1 mile from the nearest food store (supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store) in an urban area or more than 10 miles from such a store in a rural area.




Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture


Share of Census Tracts with Food Deserts
2019
Arkansas52%
United States38%

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Notes: 1 mile for urban areas and 10 miles for rural areas










INDICATORS TREND | STATE
Education: Access to Quality Slots for Infants and Toddlers Not Applicable
Education: Access to Quality Child Care Slots for Preschoolers Not Applicable
Education: Grade 3 Reading Decreasing
Education: Grade 8 Math Maintaining
Education: Graduation Rate Increasing
Education: Remediation Rate Maintaining
Education: Adults with a High School Degree Increasing
Education: Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Increasing
Education: Adults Pursuing Further Education Decreasing
Education: Imagination Libraries Increasing
Health: Low Birth Weight Babies Not Applicable
Health: Early Prenatal Care Increasing
Health: Overweight or Obese Students Increasing
Health: Overweight or Obese Adults Increasing
Health: Physically Inactive Adults Maintaining
Health: Smoking Rate Decreasing
Health: Insurance Coverage Rates Increasing
Health: Oral Health Increasing
Health: Life Expectancy Decreasing
Health: Routine Check-ups Increasing
Health: Overdose Deaths Increasing
Families: Teen Births Decreasing
Families: Children Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: People Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: Elderly Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: Median Household Income Maintaining
Families: Unemployment Rate Decreasing
Families: Homeownership Rate Decreasing
Families: Child Abuse and Neglect Decreasing
Families: Access to Financial Services Decreasing
Families: Food Insecurity Decreasing
Families: Food Deserts Not Applicable
Families: Homelessness Decreasing
Families: Change in Total Jobs Increasing
Families: Cost of Homeownership Maintaining
Families: Households Below ALICE Threshold Not Applicable
Families: Overall Housing Cost Burden Decreasing
Families: Child Care Costs for Toddlers Not Applicable
Families: Medical Debt Not Applicable
Families: Households Receiving SNAP Decreasing
Families: Incarceration Rate Increasing
Community: Voter Participation Rate Decreasing
Community: Charitable Giving Increasing
Community: Volunteering Increasing
Community: Group Participation Increasing
Community: Connection to Neighbors Decreasing
Community: Local Voting Not Applicable
Demographics: Change in Population Increasing
Demographics: Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Demographics: Change in Population by Age Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Remediation Rate Maintaining
Racial Equity: Adults with a High School Degree Increasing
Racial Equity: Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Increasing
Racial Equity: Adults Pursuing Further Education Decreasing
Racial Equity: Low Birth Weight Babies Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Early Prenatal Care Increasing
Racial Equity: Overweight or Obese Students Increasing
Racial Equity: Overweight or Obese Adults Increasing
Racial Equity: Physically Inactive Adults Maintaining
Racial Equity: Smoking Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Insurance Coverage Rates Increasing
Racial Equity: Oral Health Increasing
Racial Equity: Life Expectancy Decreasing
Racial Equity: Routine Check-ups Increasing
Racial Equity: Teen Births Decreasing
Racial Equity: Children Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: People Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: Elderly Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: Median Household Income Maintaining
Racial Equity: Unemployment Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Homeownership Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Child Abuse and Neglect Decreasing
Racial Equity: Access to Financial Services Decreasing
Racial Equity: Food Insecurity Decreasing
Racial Equity: Homelessness Decreasing
Racial Equity: Cost of Homeownership Maintaining
Racial Equity: Medical Debt Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Households Receiving SNAP Decreasing
Racial Equity: Incarceration Rate Increasing
Racial Equity: Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable








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